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Glite Dictionary
famished

famished

1 5.1
Very hungry and needing to eat right away
  • adjective
  • /ˈfæmɪʃt/
  • Informal
translation icon : hambriento
  • She felt famished by the time she arrived at the restaurant after skipping breakfast.
  • so famished

Examples

  • His teenage conscripts were exhausted by constant marching and famished as Saxony had been stripped bare of supplies.

  • The children were famished after playing outside all afternoon and couldn't wait for dinner.

  • "You know I am absolutely famished."

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "I'm really famished." "I should think so."

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Myrmeen was too exhausted and famished to do anything but join them.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I'm starved, I'm absolutely famished!

    Come Play with Me (1977)

  • Greetings to the weary and famished

    This Is Our Time (2013)

  • I'm absolutely famished.

    Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

  • ANNETTE: I'm absolutely famished!

    Titanic (1953)

  • After hiking for hours without food, I was completely famished and ready to eat anything.

Synonyms

hungry
vsfamished
∞ 1.0

Feeling a need to eat

describes far stronger severe hunger beyond the normal feeling
ravenous
vsfamished
18 6.0

Feeling very hungry and eager to eat

focuses on physical suffering rather than eager desire to eat
starving
vsfamished
1 1.4

Very hungry and needing food now

is not always life threatening even when hunger is extreme
sharp-set
vsfamished
1 9.1

Feeling very hungry and ready to eat a lot

focuses on suffering rather than an active appetite for food
starved
vsfamished
2.1

A person or animal who is very hungry because they have no food

does not focus on lack of supply as the cause of hunger
esurient
vsfamished
  • Archaic
9.9

Very hungry and wanting a lot of food or money

refers only to physical starvation not to greed for wealth
empty-bellied
vsfamished
4.1

Feeling hungry and weak

refers to extreme suffering from lack of food rather than simple need

Antonyms

full
853 1.0

Not wanting more food or drink after eating enough

satisfied
38 1.0

Not hungry or thirsty after eating enough

How Hungry

starving
1 1.4
ravenous
18 6.0
famished
  • Informal
1 5.1
hungry
∞ 1.0
peckish
  • UK
5 7.3

Surface Forms

famished positive

Morphology

famished = famish (transparent) = famish + ed

The adjective is directly formed from the verb 'famish' by adding '-ed', so its meaning 'suffering from severe hunger' follows straightforwardly.

Etymology

The word famished comes from the old Latin word fames meaning 'hunger' and is the same root as famine. So to be famished is to be 'very hungry'.